Jun 3, 2014

Seven Days

I don’t sleep until my body gives me no choice. I go until the last drop of energy is zapped from my bones and my muscles are too weak to keep my eyes from closing. Only then am I able to achieve true peace: A slumber without dreams, without memories of my real life nightmare. I thought I was escaping my past, finally running toward the future I deserved.Until I met Ryan. One week with him had me questioning everything I was sure I wanted out of my life. Being with him means I can’t leave my past behind. Being without him might just kill me anyway.One week destroyed everything.One week shattered my dreamsOne week I lived in the sunBut the darkness never truly fades.This book is recommended for adult audiences due to depictions of sex, violence and drug use.Josie Leigh is an independent author who focuses on writing Romance because she loves a story with a happy ending. Writing has been an escape for her from a very young age, and she cherishes the time she gets to spend with her characters. After graduating with a Bachelors degree in Nutrition in 2008, she pursued a challenging career in the field of nutrition insecurity and anti-hunger advocacy. She is grateful to be able to feed hungry families on a daily basis and chase her literary dreams in her off time.

Meet me at the diner, 5:30am, Monday. Bring hiking boots and a change of clothes.

For what felt like the one millionth time over the last twenty-four hours, I looked down at the text I sent Ryan in the waning darkness early Sunday morning.

I’ll be there was the only reply I’d gotten.

“Staring at the phone won’t make time move faster,” Britton mumbled as we watched the sun peak over the mountain while we waited for my ride.

“You are going straight to Tildy’s, right? She gave you the key?” I double checked with her, finally relinquishing my death grip on our cell phone and handing it to her as she produced a house key from a chain around her neck. “And I saved Ryan’s number on the phone so if anything happens, you will call me. Understand?”

“Yes, mother,” Britton joked, sarcastically, forcing me to suppress the shudder that wanted to wrack through my body at the comparison. “Oh, shit, Carrie,” she whispered in a pained voice. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I waved her off as a large black Dodge Ram quad cab worked its way into the parking lot. Nerves I didn’t feel before started to collide in my stomach as I watched its approach. Was I ready for this? Could I handle it?

“No, it’s not, it’s just that you might only be gone a day, and you’re acting like I’ve never been alone before, and—”

“I get it, Brit,” I stopped her as the truck pulled into the empty spot beside us and Ryan jumped out, looking delicious in a pair of black cargo shorts and black fitted t-shirt. His brown hair looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. I bit my lip at the sudden urge I had to plunge my fingers into it and mess it up even more. Preferably, it would be while he had his tongue down my throat.